Test of the ACCWing, a flexible wing for 20-knot peaks without forcing it
A sail that’s easy to hoist
It was the end of July 2023, and the conditions were perfect, with a steady wind. The wind angle permitting, it was decided to leave the pontoon under sail, or rather wing… On the catamaran used to support the first ACCWing, the wing is very easy to set. Like any other sail, a simple halyard at the top of the carbon mast allows the 54 m2 to be hoisted, without having to worry about any luff ropes or lazy jacks.
The wing is made of a classic double skin of membrane sailcloth, with a low boom and 3 intermediate rigid carbon ribs. Even when shocked, the wing quickly acquires a little lift, and it doesn’t take long to cast off.
Adjustable wing profile
As its name suggests, ACCWing stands for Automated Camber Control Wing, and the patent filed for the invention includes the ability to adjust the camber of the profile. Once we’re out of the channel, at a speed that’s already quite high compared to the surrounding boats, we can take a look at the wing’s adjustment options. At first glance, the operation is fairly classic, with a sheet on each side, shifted with hoists. While the test catamaran was designed for traditional rigging, future ACCWing-designed boats will have circular rails to hold the trailing and leading edges.
For our start, the profile was kept symmetrical, and was already working well. To improve performance, we’re testing the possibility of cambering the profile. To achieve this, the system uses flexible joints, called muscles, similar to those in the human body.
